If you’re looking to get started investing in real estate by fixing and flipping houses, you’ll want to know what type of property to buy.

THREE TIPS TO HELP YOU FIND THE PERFECT FIXER

1. Know Your Market

Your first task, exploring your market, helps you know a bargain house when you spot one. Look at many houses for sale in your area. Keep track of sales and how long the houses take to sell. Ask selling real estate agents about the terms of these sales because this helps you understand how sellers market their property (some of this information is public record). For instance, if a seller paid closing costs for the buyer, did the price rise from the listed price accordingly? Or, did the seller come down on the price and also pay the buyer’s costs?

Examine the sales that sell quickly. What home features and financing options prompted the fast sale?

Also, look at model homes. Buyers often buy resale homes because they can’t wait for a new home to be finished. However, these buyers like the distinctive features new homes offer. Visit model homes and take notes on how details like a water fountain or a new state-of-the-art appliance makes a house sell itself. When you remodel your fixer, you’ll know what attracts buyers and you’ll make smart redesign choices.

2. Know When “Ugly” Means “Gold”

When you first start out in your real estate “flipping fixers” business, you’ll want to look for houses needing only cosmetic work. Look for houses that just need cleaning up, painting, and new flooring. Use your imagination when viewing these homes. Try to visualize the finished dollhouse as you look at structural features and the surrounding homes. Make offers on the ugliest houses in decent neighborhoods.

Don’t be afraid of stinky houses that show horribly. Search for fixers with peeling paint, holes in the wall, stained carpeting, and trash in the yard. Remember, these houses won’t look good to most buyers, but other real estate investors see them as gold mines.

3. Know When “Ugly” Means “No thanks”

When you’re new to real estate investing, always remember your limitations. Use caution when considering houses that need structural repairs. Some rehabbers replace walls, plumbing, structural beams, sub-flooring, and electrical systems. These experienced real estate investors acquired those skills after years of experience or they have the money to pay for professional help.

If you find a house with structural problems, get estimates from reliable contractors to do the work. If the walls have too many cracks and bumps, you may need to hang new sheet rock or hire a professional plaster refinisher. Check for signs of plumbing problems such as water stains under sinks and loose flooring, and get estimates for professional repair. Take professional estimates into account before deciding whether or not to purchase an investment property. Any big expense decreases your eventual profit.

Turn Yucks into Bucks

Why would anyone want to do this hard work? How much does the average rehabbers make? In Ohio, real estate investors buy houses expecting a profit of about $30,000. In Southern California, many investors make $50,000 to $100,000 on each house.

When you find a garbage-filled, flea-infested house in a family neighborhood, take your bug spray, hold your nose, and get ready to make a difference, in the neighborhood and in your bank account.

You can make a fortune fixing nasty houses. Know your market. Know when “ugly” means profit in your pocket, and when to keep looking for the house with the hidden gold mine.

Copyright © 2005 Jeanette J. Fisher. All rights reserved.

Flipping Houses for Gold: Three Tips to Help You Find the Perfect Fixer is a post from:

The new agreement is the latest licensee signing for the company that produces Fix-a-Forms in 23 countries.

IWACO, the company’s Scandinavian licensee, will manufacture the Fix-a-Forms for exclusive distribution to Poland.

Stephen Jarrold, Fix-a-Form marketing manager, commented: ‘Eastern European countries are becoming prime targets for international market development. Poland is regarded as a doorway to much of this potential and has been an obvious target for Fix-a-Form for some time.

‘Local supply is of paramount importance if Fix-a-Form is to be accepted by countries like Poland where companies are struggling to manufacture and compete,’ Mr Jarrold continued. ‘They need locally supplied materials and services, rather than high priced imported goods, to help them beat off competition from other countries.’

Fix-a-Form managing director Andrew Denny added: ‘Fix-a-Form International provides a comprehensive back-up service to licensees and this move into Poland will be no exception. We have arranged for Stephen Jarrold to join representatives from IWACO to help introduce the on-pack communication device to the new market. They will be conducting a series of seminars across the country.’

Poland, Mr Denny emphasised, was a key market for Fix-a-Form. ‘It takes us into a completely new geographical area. We will be selling, via our existing licensee, to companies that will have probably never have seen a Fix-a-Form before. It will be interesting to see the reaction we get to the product.’

Fix-a-Forms are machine folded leaflets combined with self-adhesive labels, supplied on-reel for automatic application using standard labelling equipment.

Etiquette are the UK’s experts in labels and labelling. For further information about Etiquette, visit http://www.etiquette.co.uk

Fix-a-Form goes east is a post from:

Know your forex trading market.
Educate yourself about the currencies that you trade. The more you know about the country whose currency you’re trading in the forex market, the more accurately you’ll be able to predict which way the money will move.

Pick a forex trading system – and stick with it.
Savvy forex traders will tell you that system is everything. Forex trading by system lets you automate your trades based on history, following the traditional peaks and valleys. Set up a system and live with it to make the most of your forex trading.

Practice makes perfect – but it’s not the real world.
Practice forex trading accounts are great for learning how a particular trading account works – but they’re not the real world. Many experienced traders recommend starting off with a mini forex account to minimize your losses while you get acclimated.

Keep your eye on the margin.
Margin trading is a great way to lose a lot of money quickly. Stay away from forex margin trading until you’re sure you know what you’re doing.

The only win that counts in forex trading is the bottom line.
In forex trading, the bottom line is how much money you made at the end of the day. Don’t count won or lost trades – only dollars and cents.

Five Forex Trading Tips You MUST Know is a post from:

So, is there a safe place to put your money? Analysts say yes, but it’s important to learn a few facts first.

For instance, real estate has long been known as a secure, tangible investment because it generally appreciates over time. But most would-be investors are not real estate experts, and many of us don’t have enough money to fund the purchase of an investment property-let alone to fix up a run-down home. However, there is another strategy. It’s called cash flow investing and it allows people to benefit from secure and profitable real estate investments without buying or selling properties.

Put simply, a real estate cash flow note is a private mortgage created between two individuals instead of between a buyer and a bank. What many people don’t know is that one in 13 American homes is sold this way. Much like banks, which buy previously created mortgages, private individuals can buy cash flow notes to build returns of 20 percent or more. Here’s how it works:

Let’s say I sold a house for $100,000 and my buyer had $50,000 to use as a down payment. I can draw up a contract that takes $50,000 down and finances the remaining $50,000 over 30 years. I now have a cash flow note that generates monthly payments of $299.78 each month secured by real estate.

As a note holder, I have two options. I can take advantage of the monthly income and interest, or I can sell the note to another investor for instant cash. This is where you, as an investor, come in to make money. Let’s say you’re an investor with $35,000 to invest. I might not be willing to wait 30 years for my money, so I’ll sell you my $50,000 cash flow note for $35,000. Many investors find they can buy notes at great prices just because the original note holder wants to “cash out.” Now you’re receiving a steady monthly income of almost $300 and you’re in a position to make a 30 percent return on your investment-even before interest.

Best of all, unlike stocks and bonds, your cash flow note investment is secured by real estate-one of the most solid investments in the world.

Finding Secure Investments is a post from:

At that time brokers would send you information, and maybe they still do, from various Exchanges about different trading strategies and how one might use them in a particular Futures Market. Well, this information looked pretty good! All I had to do was get a charting service and I was on my way.

I guess I wasn’t as bright as the person that gathered the information for the booklets because I simply could not make these indicators work for me. Surely someone was trading successfully using this information I thought, otherwise why would they publish the booklets. With this thought in mind I felt I just needed more information.

Books had to be the answer. Like I said previously, I guess I was not very bright because after reading thirty or forty books thoroughly, some two and three times, and having applied the techniques learned from the books, I was not able to trade profitably on a consistent basis. I’m sure some are capable of using these techniques to trade successfully, but I was not able to do so. While having a book burning party a few years ago, I decided to keep one book to remind me of my experience. It’s on my bookshelf and I glance at it once or twice a year to keep this experience fresh in my memory. There may be some great books out there that show you how to trade successfully on a consistent basis, but unfortunately I never found one. I wasted years on this endeavor.

By this time computer trading was getting popular. I received an advertisement about a program where I could actually write my own system and back test it to get results before actually trading it. Wow! This was great and it was only $4,500.00. They advertised anyone would be able to program this thing. Well they must have meant anyone with the exception of me. I wasted hundreds of hours trying to write programs unsuccessfully. I didn’t know the program language and I wasn’t able to get enough information to learn it so I decided to be intelligent about this situation and bought another program at only half the price of the first one. I was able to write a few programs that produced very well in back testing, if one could stand twenty point stops in the S&P. I really liked this idea but finally had to admit that it was not going to give me what I was searching for.

For years now I had been studying charts every single day plus weekends and evenings.Of course I was aware that all indicators, strategies, systems etc. started with price. None of these things can be made without price moving first. Price can’t be wrong because it is what it is, therefore it is always right. So I decided to put all of my energy into the study of charts, or price and its movement, and finally I found it. It was right there in front of me all these years and I just didn’t see it. After another year or so of perfecting entries and exits and how to read where price should go, and if it would continue on or turn at that point, I finally had a system. This system will give you profits consistently. I found that price will tell you where it is going and where it is likely to turn, and if it doesn’t turn there it will tell you in advance that it will likely continue.

I had a hard time learning to trade without a mentor. It actually took years of commitment, hard work, and a lot of wasted money. If you are new to trading Futures, or any market, and you don’t have a mentor with a good system that will give you consistent profits, then by all means that should be your first endeavor. It is said that 90 of everyone trading in the futures market loses. Make sure you’re in the 5 that are winners.

Finding a System to Day Trade the Futures Market is a post from:

I want to show you a study that is remarkable in that it shows obvious pattern trading but not in a single stock rather an entire index, in this case the NASDAQ. The slides here are chronologically sequential and can not be put together after the fact to make a point. They were annotated and posted as they happened and were charted in my Trader’s Talk Live training sessions. I have a group of students who subscribe to spend several hours per week charting and being trained to read and trade off chart patterns. What you will see is the break of a trend and the steps it takes to morph into a new trend.

Note that the lines were drawn before the pattern fully developed, demonstrating that the pattern was recognized and laid out before the price played into the lines. Now the pattern could have broken at any time. The lines did not dictate what the stock / Index could or could not do. Rather the lines showed the pattern and the targets that would be reached if the pattern continued. Each pivot point that was reached gave an opportunity to trade off the price reaction to a critical decision point.

Feb 23rd the index dropped to recent support rally with the up trend line just below. A lower top also was formed. We identified the support and noted that the long term line was just below.

Now, notice that the next day held support but reached down intraday to bounce off the trend line. As it moves up it stalls in line with lower tops forming a wedge pattern. Now it is a powerful pivot point as descending tops collide with a long term support trend line. A move to the upside is a break out the target will be 2155. A break in the support line gives weight to the developing down trend.

The next day drops right to the support line the break down signals the end of an uptrend that began in March 2003 and changed angles in November 2003. It moves on down to the bottom of the trading range of the new trend. This set up is another Obvious Bracket Trade. The Resistance line is defining the current trend and the Support and resistance lines show that there is attention being paid to the target points. The pile of lumber is taking the shape of a nice house.

As a double bounce / bottom pounds the support line, the upside target is the top of the range at about 2020. The downside targets would be sliding down the support line or dropping to the next hard price support of 1900, the last major rally point.

Two days later, the big gap and drop to 1900 signals the recognition of the support area. Returning to previous rally points is a common pattern. From here, the market sentiment can be accurately tested. The public is not the critical catalyst here. The big traders here will be testing to see if the public is finished selling off. If there is equilibrium, the public / market may be ready to follow a lead to the upside.

Try as you like, you will not find news to explain what happens the next three days. To quote an analyst on CNBC who speculated at length about what prompted the big move last Thursday,” I guess we don’t really know”.

Well, I will tell you this. The folks who lit that fire were careful to choose that day to test fire the rocket. All of the markets had reached support levels from a trend line / straight line analysis point of view (see the commentaries for the last three weeks).

In our Trader Talk Live sessions we chronicled this as it happened and had opportunities to trade the many stocks that were doing the exact same dance steps.

This morning we are right at the next target. We moved there in the first hour and stopped. It has been an hour so far and it is still there. Gee, do you think that maybe the traders already knew that 1995-2000 was the limit of the current pattern and that many traders would be very ready and willing to take profits here at an obvious pivot point? Now will they? I don’t know… I am not on the floor. But I don’t have to be there to see the targets. When they get there, there will be a struggle to test the waters. If the buying frenzy will not give way to some shorting or profit taking there could be a test above the mark to see who wants to play. Either way… the pattern speaks volumes to the premise that in the midst of what may seem like randomness there appears to be a guiding hand. Look folks, there is too much money on the line not to have serious efforts to create some predictability.

Most all indicators and averages etc. are following and at best interesting after the fact. Some are predictive and highly accurate in reflecting behavior but Pattern Analysis of the price action and the targeting the next likely TEST of the market sentiment is the closest and most accurate way to get close to the game. You are likely not the Key trader in a stock or an index fund. Most likely you are not one of the Professional institutional traders that follow the Key Traders or the Fund managers that pick up on the momentum building on the floor. The masses take their Queue long after the test and subsequent direction has begun and your participation in the end will be necessary to move the stock or market on toward the testing point.

While I do use a very few indicators (MACD, WRSI, Stochs) they are consultants and are never reason I trade. The actual movement across a trigger price, whether it agrees with the indicators or not, dictates the trade. Now the indicators I use are highly accurate but guess what folks… they are never as accurate as the price. I routinely train my students to trade with out any indicators and they are surprised that they consistently make money by only trading price action and patterns. However there is one tool I insist on trading with and that is Candle Sticks. They is not an indicator, they are my hidden camera in the competition’s board room. But that discussion is for another day.

The pattern tells me when we reach a pivot point (significant price); the indicators give their best intelligence on the disposition of the trader’s momentum and attitude. That lets me set up legitimate criteria to make a trade. If /Then for the upside and If/Then for the down side. Armed with all that, I sit back and let the Stock / Index do what it will do. The key traders engage the masses and the spark either lights a fire or it doesn’t. I can’t know for sure what they will do and while I could say “my indicators suggest …so I am going in”, is would be a glorified guess that screams “I don’t know how to wait for the stock to tell me it’s time. I will trust the indicator that seems to be right a lot of the time and cross my fingers”. I’ll tell a secret, the Key Traders, and the Pros that will follow them, are not looking at range bands, moving averages and overbought /over sold indicators. Their actions are making those indicators say what it says. They are doing a delicate dance with the real momentum of the market, the masses. They do not want to go against the public sentiment. They want to test / read that sentiment and drive the leading edge of the next cycle of the pattern.

I love this stuff! I have many maxims that I use to help keep perspective. “The stock will never listen to you, but it will speak if you learn to listen”, “Find the pattern and play it till it breaks”, ” If there is no pattern, there is no trade”.

Not all stocks and or indexes have easy patterns to follow but where there is big profit potential, there will be a pattern. Just because you can’t see it, does not mean it is not there.

The NASDAQ price action over the last year is a very beautiful house and that pile of wood did not land that way by random action. While some Technical indicators are often accurate at predicting price action, the market is right ALL the TIME! Find the Pattern and play it till it breaks.

PS. It takes a while for me to write an article like this. I came back to finish the editing and it is now 4 hours into the market. You gotta’ see this…

So, where does it go from here? I don’t know but it is obvious to me that the key traders know exactly where they are. They also have targets and all I have to do is find the up and down targets and when they take off I will follow. Remember, you don’t have to guess, “Find the pattern… it will speak to you”.

Ryan Litchfield with Better Trades

Find the Pattern with Better Trades is a post from:

As markets grew, the scales of industrial production (and of service provision) expanded. A single investor (or a small group of investors) could no longer accommodate the needs even of a single firm. As knowledge increased and specialization ensued – it was no longer feasible or possible to micro-manage a firm one invested in. Actually, separate businesses of money making and business management emerged. An investor was expected to excel in obtaining high yields on his capital – not in industrial management or in marketing. A manager was expected to manage, not to be capable of personally tackling the various and varying tasks of the business that he managed.

Thus, two classes of investors emerged. One type supplied firms with capital. The other type supplied them with know-how, technology, management skills, marketing techniques, intellectual property, clientele and a vision, a sense of direction.

In many cases, the strategic investor also provided the necessary funding. But, more and more, a separation was maintained. Venture capital and risk capital funds, for instance, are purely financial investors. So are, to a growing extent, investment banks and other financial institutions.

The financial investor represents the past. Its money is the result of past – right and wrong – decisions. Its orientation is short term: an “exit strategy” is sought as soon as feasible. For “exit strategy” read quick profits. The financial investor is always on the lookout, searching for willing buyers for his stake. The stock exchange is a popular exit strategy. The financial investor has little interest in the company’s management. Optimally, his money buys for him not only a good product and a good market, but also a good management. But his interpretation of the rolls and functions of “good management” are very different to that offered by the strategic investor. The financial investor is satisfied with a management team which maximizes value. The price of his shares is the most important indication of success. This is “bottom line” short termism which also characterizes operators in the capital markets. Invested in so many ventures and companies, the financial investor has no interest, nor the resources to get seriously involved in any one of them. Micro-management is left to others – but, in many cases, so is macro-management. The financial investor participates in quarterly or annual general shareholders meetings. This is the extent of its involvement.

The strategic investor, on the other hand, represents the real long term accumulator of value. Paradoxically, it is the strategic investor that has the greater influence on the value of the company’s shares. The quality of management, the rate of the introduction of new products, the success or failure of marketing strategies, the level of customer satisfaction, the education of the workforce – all depend on the strategic investor. That there is a strong relationship between the quality and decisions of the strategic investor and the share price is small wonder. The strategic investor represents a discounted future in the same manner that shares do. Indeed, gradually, the balance between financial investors and strategic investors is shifting in favour of the latter. People understand that money is abundant and what is in short supply is good management. Given the ability to create a brand, to generate profits, to issue new products and to acquire new clients – money is abundant.

These are the functions normally reserved to financial investors:

Financial Management

The financial investor is expected to take over the financial management of the firm and to directly appoint the senior management and, especially, the management echelons, which directly deal with the finances of the firm.

1.. To regulate, supervise and implement a timely, full and accurate set of accounting books of the firm reflecting all its activities in a manner commensurate with the relevant legislation and regulation in the territories of operations of the firm and with internal guidelines set from time to time by the Board of Directors of the firm. This is usually achieved both during a Due Diligence process and later, as financial management is implemented.

2.. To implement continuous financial audit and control systems to monitor the performance of the firm, its flow of funds, the adherence to the budget, the expenditures, the income, the cost of sales and other budgetary items.

3.. To timely, regularly and duly prepare and present to the Board of Directors financial statements and reports as required by all pertinent laws and regulations in the territories of the operations of the firm and as deemed necessary and demanded from time to time by the Board of Directors of the Firm.

4.. To comply with all reporting, accounting and audit requirements imposed by the capital markets or regulatory bodies of capital markets in which the securities of the firm are traded or are about to be traded or otherwise listed.

5.. To prepare and present for the approval of the Board of Directors an annual budget, other budgets, financial plans, business plans, feasibility studies, investment memoranda and all other financial and business documents as may be required from time to time by the Board of Directors of the Firm.

6.. To alert the Board of Directors and to warn it regarding any irregularity, lack of compliance, lack of adherence, lacunas and problems whether actual or potential concerning the financial systems, the financial operations, the financing plans, the accounting, the audits, the budgets and any other matter of a financial nature or which could or does have a financial implication.

7.. To collaborate and coordinate the activities of outside suppliers of financial services hired or contracted by the firm, including accountants, auditors, financial consultants, underwriters and brokers, the banking system and other financial venues.

8.. To maintain a working relationship and to develop additional relationships with banks, financial institutions and capital markets with the aim of securing the funds necessary for the operations of the firm, the attainment of its development plans and its investments.

9.. To fully computerize all the above activities in a combined hardware-software and communications system which will integrate into the systems of other members of the group of companies.

10.. Otherwise, to initiate and engage in all manner of activities, whether financial or of other nature, conducive to the financial health, the growth prospects and the fulfillment of investment plans of the firm to the best of his ability and with the appropriate dedication of the time and efforts required.

Collection and Credit Assessment

1.. To construct and implement credit risk assessment tools, questionnaires, quantitative methods, data gathering methods and venues in order to properly evaluate and predict the credit risk rating of a client, distributor, or supplier.
2.. To constantly monitor and analyse the payment morale, regularity, non-payment and non-performance events, etc. – in order to determine the changes in the credit risk rating of said factors.
3.. To analyse receivables and collectibles on a regular and timely basis.
4.. To improve the collection methods in order to reduce the amounts of arrears and overdue payments, or the average period of such arrears and overdue payments.
5.. To collaborate with legal institutions, law enforcement agencies and private collection firms in assuring the timely flow and payment of all due payments, arrears and overdue payments and other collectibles.
6.. To coordinate an educational campaign to ensure the voluntary collaboration of the clients, distributors and other debtors in the timely and orderly payment of their dues.
The strategic investor is, usually, put in charge of the following:

Project Planning and Project Management

The strategic investor is uniquely positioned to plan the technical side of the project and to implement it. He is, therefore, put in charge of:

1.. The selection of infrastructure, equipment, raw materials, industrial processes, etc.;

2.. Negotiations and agreements with providers and suppliers;

3.. Minimizing the costs of infrastructure by deploying proprietary components and planning;

4.. The provision of corporate guarantees and letters of comfort to suppliers;

5.. The planning and erecting of the various sites, structures, buildings, premises, factories, etc.;

6.. The planning and implementation of line connections, computer network connections, protocols, solving issues of compatibility (hardware and software, etc.);

7.. Project planning, implementation and supervision.

Marketing and Sales

1.. The presentation to the Board an annual plan of sales and marketing including: market penetration targets, profiles of potential social and economic categories of clients, sales promotion methods, advertising campaigns, image, public relations and other media campaigns. The strategic investor also implements these plans or supervises their implementation.
2.. The strategic investor is usually possessed of a brandname recognized in many countries. It is the market leaders in certain territories. It has been providing goods and services to users for a long period of time, reliably. This is an important asset, which, if properly used, can attract users. The enhancement of the brandname, its recognition and market awareness, market penetration, co-branding, collaboration with other suppliers – are all the responsibilities of the strategic investor.
3.. The dissemination of the product as a preferred choice among vendors, distributors, individual users and businesses in the territory.
4.. Special events, sponsorships, collaboration with businesses.
5.. The planning and implementation of incentive systems (e.g., points, vouchers).
f.. The strategic investor usually organizes a distribution and dealership network, a franchising network, or a sales network (retail chains) including: training, pricing, pecuniary and quality supervision, network control, inventory and accounting controls, advertising, local marketing and sales promotion and other network management functions.
g.. The strategic investor is also in charge of “vision thinking”: new methods of operation, new marketing ploys, new market niches, predicting the future trends and market needs, market analyses and research, etc.
The strategic investor typically brings to the firm valuable experience in marketing and sales. It has numerous off the shelf marketing plans and drawer sales promotion campaigns. It developed software and personnel capable of analysing any market into effective niches and of creating the right media (image and PR), advertising and sales promotion drives best suited for it. It has built large databases with multi-year profiles of the purchasing patterns and demographic data related to thousands of clients in many countries. It owns libraries of material, images, sounds, paper clippings, articles, PR and image materials, and proprietary trademarks and brand names. Above all, it accumulated years of marketing and sales promotion ideas which crystallized into a new conception of the business.

Technology

1.. The planning and implementation of new technological systems up to their fully operational phase. The strategic partner’s engineers are available to plan, implement and supervise all the stages of the technological side of the business.
2.. The planning and implementation of a fully operative computer system (hardware, software, communication, intranet) to deal with all the aspects of the structure and the operation of the firm. The strategic investor puts at the disposal of the firm proprietary software developed by it and specifically tailored to the needs of companies operating in the firm’s market.
3.. The encouragement of the development of in-house, proprietary, technological solutions to the needs of the firm, its clients and suppliers.
4.. The planning and the execution of an integration program with new technologies in the field, in collaboration with other suppliers or market technological leaders.
Education and Training

The strategic investor is responsible to train all the personnel in the firm: operators, customer services, distributors, vendors, sales personnel. The training is conducted at its sole expense and includes tours of its facilities abroad.

The entrepreneurs – who sought to introduce the two types of investors, in the first place – are usually left with the following functions:

Administration and Control

1.. To structure the firm in an optimal manner, most conducive to the conduct of its business and to present the new structure for the Board’s approval within 30 days from the date of the GM’s appointment.
2.. To run the day to day business of the firm.
3.. To oversee the personnel of the firm and to resolve all the personnel issues.
4.. To secure the unobstructed flow of relevant information and the protection of confidential organization.
5.. To represent the firm in its contacts, representations and negotiations with other firms, authorities, or persons.
This is why entrepreneurs find it very hard to cohabitate with investors of any kind. Entrepreneurs are excellent at identifying the needs of the market and at introducing technological or service solutions to satisfy such needs. But the very personality traits which qualify them to become entrepreneurs – also hinder the future development of their firms. Only the introduction of outside investors can resolve the dilemma. Outside investors are not emotionally involved. They may be less visionary – but also more experienced.

They are more interested in business results than in dreams. And – being well acquainted with entrepreneurs – they insist on having unmitigated control of the business, for fear of losing all their money. These things antagonize the entrepreneurs. They feel that they are losing their creation to cold-hearted, mean spirited, corporate predators. They rebel and prefer to remain small or even to close shop than to give up their cherished freedoms. This is where nine out of ten entrepreneurs fail – in knowing when to let go.

Financial Investor, Strategic Investor is a post from:

Consumption
You can choose to spend some or all of your money on “consumption” items. These include food, entertainment, holidays, housing, motor cars, hobbies, and so on. These are things we need to live on a day-to-day basis. They also consist of items that service the things we want and so improve lifestyle.

Investment
You can choose to spend some or all of your money on investment items such as revenue producing real estate, shares, interest bearing deposits, businesses that produce revenue, etc.

Consumption or investment
Two important factors need to be understood about the simple concepts of consumption and investment.

The first factor is that spending on “consumption” items results in reducing the total value of your assets (net worth). Spending on investment items aims to increase your net worth. The second factor is that you have choice. You can choose between spending on consumption or investment items.

Of course, the best spending patterns are those that aim to attain a balance between spending on consumption and investment items.

Choosing consumption or investment
You now know the difference between consumption and investment spending and that you can choose between the two.

All you need to do is to think before you spend. Consumption spending can contribute to your lifestyle (driving a new car is fun, even if it was bought on credit and has created a liability of three to five years of payments). Investment spending provides income and wealth.

Shades of Grey
There is, of course, some spending that is not clearly defined as consumption or investment. Buying your own home is considered by many to be an investment. It isn’t! The purchase usually is financed and the repayments are a liability. The upkeep of a house costs money. There are rates and taxes payable on it. You do not get any revenue from it. If you plan to sell it in a few years to make a profit on its increased value, then it may be an investment. However if you have to buy another house to live in are you really any better off?

Investment spending is necessary for building wealth
In order to build wealth, some investment spending is necessary. The more that goes into investment spending, the bigger and quicker your wealth will grow. However, if too much goes into investment spending, and not enough into consumption, then lifestyle can become meagre. But you can choose.

Accumulation over time
Most people are not born rich. Certainly, some inherit wealth, but consequently may not appreciate it. A few win wealth in lotteries, but ironically, perhaps because they have not worked for it, or are not used to it, could end up squandering the temporary riches.

Everyone, however, has one thing in common. The same amount of time goes past for each of us, and at the same rate. How you employ that time is significant.

Imagine that at the age of 21, you invested $1,000 at an average annual rate of return of 10%, and then by the time you reach 65, you would have accumulated over $70,000 without doing anything else.

If at the age of 21, you invested $1,000 at an average annual rate of return of 10%, and each month invested an additional $100, then by the time you reach 65, you would be a millionaire, without doing anything else.

If you did neither of these things, then the same time would pass, and you would not have accumulated any wealth.

These examples of investment, quite deliberately, use amounts of money that are affordable by most, and if spent on investment, rather than consumption, would probably not be missed.

In terms of investing, time is on your side.
Of course, you may not be 21 any more and you may wish to accumulate wealth at a faster rate. This is possible by increasing the amount invested, and the annual rate of return. It is not possible to systematically accumulate significant wealth (millions) without looking at a timeframe of several years (say 5 to 10). If you are trying to make more money in less time, then your objectives may not be realistic. Perhaps a lottery ticket, crossed fingers and large amount of luck could produce your desired result, but don’t hold your breath waiting.

The power of compounding
In the above examples there is an additional factor at work. The entire return was reinvested and participated in earning the same rate of return as the original investment. None of the investment return was withdrawn and spent on consumption items.

Financial Freedom is a post from:

Place your bet not on the ball but outside the field…

Soccer or football is the world’s most popular ball game. The 2006 FIFA World Cup is just than less than 2 months away. The World Cup is the world’s most popular soccer tournament where the best 32 teams around the world will play each other to win the soccer’s most prestige prize, the World Cup!

Traditionally, during major tournaments and games, the main focus is on the tournament itself and World Cup is one of these games. Most people are either concern on which teams have won, lost or draw and the score between the teams. During the World Cup, soccer gambling and betting enjoyed huge followings in globally. Most people will place bets on the game and teams that played. There are also other effects it has on the world. Soccer fans and enthusiasts who are in different time zone will stay overnight to catch a game and some even neglected their jobs. World Cup is also a period where increase in gambling activities and decrease in productivity in most countries.

But the pros far outweigh the cons. Hosting countries will enjoy the prestige of holding the event and also enjoy increased in revenue from hosting the event. The hosting country of World Cup will always enjoyed a short period of economic growth due to increase in number of tourist visiting the country and the revenue from tourism. From statistics, for the period within 3 before and after the event, the hosting country will enjoy a short-term economic growth and has a positive impact on the equity markets. The market condition will be good and hence conducive for investment. The equity markets and consumer staples will outperform the broad markets and the normal period.

Germany’s 2005 GDP is US$2.452 trillion up from US$2.362 trillion in 2004. It’s average GDP growth is 0.5% in a period of 5 years. On 2 occasions that Germany hosted the World Cup and European Championship in 1974 and 1988, domestic stocks outperform the broad markets in the same periods from April to August. Thus, Germany will be a good place to invest as most of the stocks will perform well from now till August.

Companies who sponsor or directly linked to the event will also enjoy a short-term growth during this time. There are 15 Official Partners of the 2006 FIFA World Cup. They are Adidas, Anheuser-Busch, Avaya, Coca-Cola, Continental, Deutsche Telekom, Emirates, Fujifilm, Gillette, Hyundai, MasterCard, McDonald’s, Philips, Toshiba and Yahoo!. All these partners not only gained in publicity from sponsoring the events but also enjoy a short period of growth in their stocks. Expect the stocks of these companies to outperform the broad market in these few month periods.

So, it is good to place your bet on the stocks of these companies as they might increase in value during these period. Adidas, Coca-Cola and Fujifilm will be my top 3 picks of stock to outperforms the market in these periods.

Here is my reasoning:

Adidas is the world’s 2nd famous sports brand after Nike. More media coverage means more sales for Adidas. The sporting goods sales should rise as the matchs progress. Adidas has enjoy a period of steady growth in its net income from EUR $208 in 2001 to EUR $383. With all the fundamentals in place, Adidas will not doubt perform well in these periods.

Coca-Cola is always present at most major sporting events and World Cup is one of them. More media coverage, means more sales of its soft drink. Furthermore, Coca-Cola always outperforms consistently during major sport evening such as World Cup. The operating income for 2005 is US$6085 Million up from US$5689 Million in 2004. Currently, Coca-Cola is value at above US$40 per lot. It is expected that the stock will enjoy substantial rise in value during these periods.

Fujifilm is in imaging business. It is undergo restructuring in business structure since last year. Though is photo film and related products have declined, its digital solution is quickly gaining popularity. As soccer has huge following around the world, the World Cup with its worldwide media attention is beneficial for digital imaging technology. The reported operating income for FY2006 is 70.6 Billion Yen and it is expected to increase to 80 Billion Yen in FY2007. I foresee the stock will have some gain in value.

But, in soccer there’s this saying. “The ball is round. Anything can happen!” Please exercise your investment with caution.

FIFA WORLD CUP GERMANY 2006… Catch your soccer fever in investing now! is a post from:

In the North-East alone farm land sales prices have risen on the first quarter of the year at an average of £2,650 an acre to £2,125 an acre.

Demand for commercial farm land has increased in the first quarter of the current at a swift rate since the RICS began the land price survey back in 1999.

The farm land sale in North East of UK, particularly near Slough is reaching an upward growth. An important fact to note is that the buyers are not particularly farmers but individual investors and developers.

Land as a whole in UK is very difficult to own. In such a scenario one can find more available farm land for sale than any other types of land. This has resulted in people opting for more farm lands even if they do not intend to farm. One can find farm land in North East and particularly in Slough being traded at an enormous quantity be it in small plots or large plots.

A recent research report shows that in 2001 UK population grew by 236,800, in 2002 by a further 215,000, and growth from mid-2002 to mid-2003 was 232,100. The UK as a whole would need over seven million more houses over the next six decades – an increase of 28 per cent in the housing stock compared with 2006. This is equivalent to more than twice the number of houses in London in 2003 and 163 times the number in Slough.

With the ever increasing head count, the demand for space to dwell is increasing. Farm lands can provide a definitive answer to meet the growing requirements.

Farmland near Slough: Investors Paradise is a post from: